Find out which Rugby Union stars were born each day here at RUCK

William Fraser

Fraser enjoyed his breakthrough season at Saracens during the 2011/12 season, making 16 first team appearances in the back-row. International call-ups and injuries gave the former Academy player his first team chance which he took with both hands. The loose forwards previous experience earned from a dual registry with Championship side Bedford Blues in 2010 likely played a crucial role in his immediate success. After grabbing the England coaching staffs attention, he made his Saxons debut in February 2013.

Hanging up his boots from professional rugby this year, Hickey enjoyed a somewhat unique career as he played for seven clubs in four countries over a decade between 2005 and 2015 The Dublin native’s career has seen him play for Leinster, Munster, London Irish, Worcester, Wasps, Petrarca in Italy and now Parisian-based outfit Massy. He has represented Ireland Schools, the Ireland Universities, Ireland U21 and Ireland A, including in the Churchill Cup, and has also played in the Heineken Cup and the Magners League.

Michael Hooper

After impressing for Australia at the Junior World Championships in 2011, Hooper’s meteoric rise through the rugby ranks continued when he made a big impact for the Brumbies in the 2012 Super Rugby season. The openside flanker, the latest in a long a strong tradition of scavenging opensides in Australia, was consequently called up by the Wallabies and won his first caps against Scotland and Wales.

The flanker ended 2013 having played in all of the Wallabies Test-games, winning the John Eales Medal as the ‘Wallabies player of the year’. The following the season-ending injury to Stephen Moore during the first test of 2014 against France in Brisbane, Hooper was named as Wallabies captain for the rest of the 2014 Test-season, meaning that he will become the Wallabies 82nd Test captain and the youngest player, aged 22, to skipper the side since Ken Catchpole (age 21, 354 days) in 1961.

So far Hooper, who is one of the most coveted flankers in the game, has accumulated 63 Super Rugby caps in his five seasons; and 50 Test caps with the Wallabies. On top of an exciting 2015 Super Rugby season, Hooper has played an integral role in Australia reaching the 2015 Rugby World Cup final this Saturday against New Zealand.

A former pupil at Chatswood’s St Pius X College, Michael grew up in the northern beaches suburb of Collaroy and is looking for a career in marketing at the conclusion of his playing career.

Damien Varley

Varley represented Munster in the Pro 12 from 2006 to 2008 and between 2009 and 2015 following a one-year stay at Premiership side Wasps. One of the highlights of his career would be when he captained Munster in their 2013-14 Heineken Cup 24-16 semi-final defeat to big spenders Toulon on 27 April 2014.The hooker would also go on to win three Test caps for the men in emerald green, winning his first cap against the Wallabies in 2010.

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